10 Point Programme

Agita is an anarcha-feminist, cis-woman and trans-separatist organization in Copenhagen. We fight capitalism, state, imperialism, racism and the cis-patriarchy, and we fight for bodily autonomy, ecology, direct action, autonomy and solidarity

In Agita we are anticapitalist. This is because capitalism equals exploitation and inequality. In a capitalist society, profit is more important than human lives and nature. Money equals power and authority, when society is moulded by capitalism, and the consequence is inequality.

In the class-separated capitalist society, normal people have no other option to survive than earning money, this often meaning having to set aside their own well-being and values. The working class has no option but to sell their labour for next to nothing in order to survive. The middle class is forced to educate themselves and work overtime in order to pay loans and finance artificial needs created by capitalism, thereby empowering the machinery and oppressing themselves.
The poorest can only hope for state-benefits or charity enough to keep away the worst hunger or illness, if they do not choose crime. The lower class suffer, so the rich can gather more wealth than they could ever need or use. In capitalist society profit is always first. We see it in regards to climate issues, created and endlessly worsened by capitalism. We see it, when countries are kept in poverty by trade unions and agreements making it impossible for these countries to become richer.

In Agita we are anti-capitalists because money itself has become an authority and the power in capitalist society. Those with political influence are those with money and resources. Those who are closest to the decisions taken by parliaments are lobbyists buying their way in. In Agita we are anti-capitalists because the majority of the world’s problems are caused by capitalism, because we don’t believe in solving the problems using capitalism, and because we want a society valuing humanity over profits. We believe that capitalism is incompatible with solidarity and humanity. It has no ethical or moral restraints, only one goal: profit. That is why class warfare is a necessary step on the way towards a society based on equality.

In Agita we are against the state and centralization of power. This is because the state pacifies the people and makes it almost impossible for society to change or progress. The state does this by an increasing amount of bureaucracy and through budget cuts disguised as signs of progress. The state oppresses the people and maintains the status quo with help from surveillance, punishment and incarceration, police and military – a monopoly of violence. A centralization of power can never be democratic and this is why the state is an enemy of democracy.

Denmark is a so-called universal welfare-state. This means, that the people has been taught that the state protects us, distributes goods and benefits evenly and gives us all the possibilities unavailable in other parts of the world. The back-side of this welfare state is, that it attempts to trick us into believing our lives are the best we can get. The welfare state gives with one hand, and takes with the other. It is dismantling itself and pushing its people towards a more capitalist society all the while telling us we should be thankful for its existence. Welfare is the reason that the people have given up on revolution.

Surveillance is increased and so is repression, those critical and seeking an alternate are stopped. We are being monitored, we are exposed to state violence and legal penalties are becoming harder. The state is able to do this, because of tendencies of trust in authorities, dependency on welfare and benefits, and a passive attitude towards that, which doesn’t directly affect the individual.
In Agita we see it as necessary to destroy the state and dismantle its repression, abolish police and military and give the people freedom to be critical and the support to live a good life. We see the democratic process of today as a smoke screen, hiding the lack of actual political change. In Agita we see a need for decentralization of the power in the institutions, that play a role in people’s lives in favour of the autonomy of the people,making decisions based on participation and organizing in solidarity.

In Agita we know that gender is a social construction, that has been given too much power to define who we are as individuals, which positions we have in society and which social roles we are given. Gender is created in a society of norms, based on structures where cis-men have the power, where two genders are acknowledged and sexuality is assumed heterosexual.

In patriarchal society, the cis-gendered heterosexual male holds the power and ability to oppress. Through time women have been denied access to positions of power or important roles in society, which instead has been given to men, while women were given passive and submissive roles. We see it to this day, when women are kept in positions making them dependent on men to lead, take initiative and dominate, while women are capable of doing this on their own. Women are being pressured into being caring, being beautiful, an being objects to satisfy men – an object given a lower social position than a male. The objectification and lower position further disempowers women giving way to violence, rape-culture and constant sexualization. In patriarchy, women function solely to satisfy, and to be a successful woman it’s important to try to live up to unrealistic ideals. Women are raised to compete with other women and are taught to hate each other, which obstructs the possibility for the individual women to unite in their struggle against gender roles and patriarchy.

Transgender people are oppressed in the patriarchy in many of the same mechanisms cis-gendered women experience. They are often sexualized, judged for their gender identity, and assumed to be inferior in different ways often related to femininity. In that way, cis-women and trans-people have a common struggle. While being part-participant and part-ally, the ciswomen must in this struggle consider their privileges regarding the non-cis-gendered, the same way it is expected that cis-gendered men, whites and heterosexuals educate themselves on their privileges in order to dismantle them.

The cis-patriarchal society is not made for those who do not identify or agree with this system of genders and sexuality. This is seen in the gender roles and social values, we are taught through our upbringing, and which most of the population continues to reproduce in society. Those falling outside of the norm are punished by those living up to them by means of social exclusion, alienation, diagnoses, ridicule and direct physical violence.
Gender is a social construction, which creates a social hierarchy using patriarchy, enforced by capitalism, imperialism and the state.

We believe, that cis-gendered men are responsible for upholding the gender-based social hierarchy and gendered oppression. This is because cis-gendered men are in the highest position of power and privilege in the cis-patriarchy. At the same time, we believe that women and trans-people are exposed to many of the same forms of oppression, and even if our fights take different shapes, the cause of our struggle is the same. This is why women and trans-people must unite to overthrow the rule of cis-gendered men and patriarchal society. The struggle is ours, and we need no saving.
Cis-gendered men can become allies by becoming aware of their privileges and dismantling them, and by giving space to women, queers and trans-people to define the means of their liberation.

We know, that only through this fight we can end the gendered oppression and create a society, where gender is of no importance. A society where there is room for all forms of gender, sexuality or lack thereof.

In Agita we believe, that no bodies should be considered wrong, and that bodily autonomy is a right. This applies to decisions regarding when your body is sexual, with whom and how. This applies to how individuals want their own bodies to look like whether this means choosing to use hormones, to undergo surgery or something third. This applies to sex-work, to abortion and to everything else. We believe, that your body is your choice, because it belongs to you and nobody else.

Sadly, in capitalist and cis-patriarchal society, we find the bodily autonomy compromised, especially for cis-women and transgender people people. In modern society there are laws to define when a transgender person can undergo surgery or receive hormones, when someone can have an abortion or when they can prostitute their own bodies. There are also economical barriers influencing these choices, rendering certain options impossible. Not only do women and transgender people not have bodily autonomy, they are also considered the of property of cis-men. Modern society teaches cis-men to regard other bodies as their property, available to them and their own satisfaction. They catcall and yell profanities at us in the streets, sexually harass us and consider us objects to be used to satisfy their sexual needs, whether we want to or not. These so-called advances are not compliments, but objectifying and threatening behaviour making cis-women and transgender people unsafe in public.

In Agita we believe, that everyone has the right to deny anyone’s advances, sexual or not, by any means necessary. We believe all bodies are to be considered equal. Patriarchy and capitalism has created harmful ideals of what healthy and beautiful bodies are, and uses these ideals to oppress and create a sense of inferiority and low self-esteem and -worth. This inferiority is used by companies to earn money, while a growing focus on appearance and presentation distracts the people from uniting against the structures in society creating these ideals. Those deviating from the ideals are considered inferior and are ostracized. They are told to be shameful of their bodies and weight, if they’re bigger than the ideal. They are reduced to being societies losers, which leads to shame, self-hate and eating disorders. People with disabilities are reduced to their disability, and are told that parts of their bodies are broken. Some disabled are not allowed freedom of movement and sharing in the public space due to lacking accessibility. In short, those who do not live up to society’s norms of bodies are excluded either by physical or psychological pressure. When living their lives, they are ridiculed and punished for not living up to the ideals.

We will not accept that women, transgender people and people not living up to the ideals of body and beauty are oppressed and sexualized. We do not want to be scared, and we will fight the society making our lives dangerous. That is why Agita believe in body-positivism and fighting ableism. We are a group that will use any means to secure the lives and bodies of women, transgender people and anyone whose bodies are not considered good enough. We are a group fighting for everyone’s right to the power over their own bodies.

In Agita we are opponents of colonialism and imperialism. This is the case, because the world and its resources belong to everyone, and because borders are used to keep people in poverty and fear, so other countries can enjoy stolen wealth. This applies both to the old colonialism using slave-trade and mapping the ‘new world’ and to the new imperialism created through free-trade agreements and wars disguised as campaigns for democracy. In Agita we see colonialism and imperialism for what they really are – exploitation of foreign countries and their resources and an expression of a power struggle between richer countries where foreign soil is the battlefield.

There is a very racist reason behind the western countries’ attempts to economically conquer the rest of the world. It stems from an arrogant attitude that considers western countries (and now also other countries with growing economies), as having a more evolved and higher developed culture. This brings the idea that the west is enriching poorer countries and doing them a favour by modernizing their society after our standards and injecting capitalism into their societies. This typical west-centered point of view is now spreading to other growing economies. An attempt to rob countries for their resources is disguised as a noble attempt to introduce democracy or a better economy. It should be clear to everyone, that this is not the case. Borders distinguishing between rich and poor countries exists to maintain status quo and keep the wealth that rich countries have stolen.

The oppression and horrible consequences of imperialism and colonialism are being ignored and denied. The only form of responsibility shown towards poorer countries are charities which have a very low priority in the parliaments, when compared to problems within a country’s borders, all the while NGO’s at their best only offer a treatment of symptoms. International problems such as starvation, epidemics, war, climate changes and poverty are all caused by colonialism and imperialism in a tight companionship with capitalism.

In Agita we know, that only abolishing imperialism, colonialism and national borders through international revolution can be a real solution to these problems. Multinational companies need to be replaced by locally organized and locally owned organizations, borders need to be replaced by freedom of movement and resources need to be shared evenly between people. Only in this way we can solve the problems created by capitalism and create a united, international society, where materials are shared and borders are nothing but lines on a map.

Agita is against racism, because oppression based on skin-color, religion, ethnicity and cultural background is one of the problems that divides society. Racism is used by those in power and by the economical upper-class through media in an attempt to control the people. By using racism, different demographics are played out against each other, and by giving whites an undeserved privileged position, others are marginalized.

Those in power use racism to justify exploitation of other countries, warfare, regimes of apartheid, genocide and imperialism. The state uses that same racism to dehumanize refugees and people fleeing crises that white western societies have created. The media and state created image of ‘the others’ is a major factor stopping the people from uniting, because it creates another layer of class. In Agita we recognize that racism is performed and perpetuated by all white people, and can never be completely unlearned once you have been raised with these ideas of superiority. As a white person, you have a responsibility not to act on this racism, to make yourself aware of your own privileged behaviour and give space to those who do not have your privileges. As a white person it is your responsibility to actively combat racism, because white people have all the privileges that people of colour and those experiencing racializing do not. It is important that POC have space to organize and define their own struggle and their means to overcome it as they see fit.

We also recognize that antiracist and left-radical movements in Denmark are mostly dominated by white people, which is also reflected in our own group. We are not here to save POC, we are here to support the struggle they define, in any way we are allowed.
Racism will continue to exist until structural and institutional oppression, capitalism and imperialism are abolished. That is why we actively work to make the people aware of racism – a step towards a revolution that can end the oppressive power structures of today.

In Agita we know that global warming and all the other problems we face in relation to the climate are caused by capitalism. This is the case, because profit will always be prioritized over the environment in a capitalist society. The heightened demand and thereby the heightened supply that capitalist society creates has become a vicious circle that in time has created a very negative effect on the planet.

The capitalist search for profit has meant, and still means, the largest extinction of animal- and plant species in history and in time it can mean the extinction of mankind itself. Extreme damage to nature, “modernisation” of the farming industry and massive pollution is a direct consequence of capitalist society. We see these consequences when artificially created needs for material things are dominating our consumption and when food is being produced in a manner which is more harmful to the planet then benefitting the hungry. The consequences of the problems largely created in the economically richer parts of the world are worse in parts of the world that has not played as big a part in creating the climate crises. This is seen when the growing amount of toxic waste that our heightened consumption has created is physically moved to other parts of the world to be dealt with. A result of the climate problems is also a growing number of climate-refugees, that simply has to leave their home countries due to the effect the climate changes has on their everyday lives. Western countries and other growing economies refuse to face and take responsibility for these problems. The leaders of the world and the lobbyists of big corporations make big international summits again and again to “find a solution to the problems” with global warming, the environment and the pollution. However, they are never going to be able to find any real solutions, because prioritising the economy makes this impossible. The climate cannot wait on the semi-solutions of politicians and lobbyists. It is time to acknowledge the seriousness of the climate issue and realize that this is a pressing matter that needs to be dealt with properly.

In Agita we know that the capitalist hunger for bigger profit is the course of the climate problems and we know that the solution can therefore not be found within a capitalist society. The only proper actions to take must therefore be: 1) to change the ways of production into a model that does not harm the environment and does not produce more food or material goods than needed. 2) only to use sustainable energy for production, electricity and transportation. 3) To reuse all materials possible and establish a responsible and safe way of decomposing trash and toxic waste. These are the reasons why we in Agita are fighting for radical and sustainable solutions to the climate issues. Our goal is to create a good setting for the society we are fighting for.

In Agita we know that real political changes are not made through parliamentarianism but through direct action and civil disobedience. In Agita we are revolutionaries and in Agita we are militant.

We are revolutionaries because we know that society’s problems cannot be solved before we abolish capitalism. We are militant because we know that the ones who hold the power in society will use any means necessary to keep their power and to stop the people from trying to rebel. In Agita we do not want to go down a path that is dead end. We know that parliamentarianism is not a mean to change society as much as it needs to be. We know that we cannot consume our way to a utopian world. Our means are not violence, our means are self-defence. Our means are not the police or the military, our means are to strike, sabotage and occupy for change. We are not presenting bills and we are not financed by big corporations with shady agendas. We are taking matters in to our own hands. In a society where governments take part in wars, where states are experimenting with weapons of mass destruction and where corporations are destroying the planet and keeping people hungry and in poverty with their ways of production militants and revolution is not only just, it is necessary!

It is not the revolutionaries, the anarchists, the autonomous, the militant, the radical queer-feminists and anti-racists that are the violent murdering criminals. It is stats, capitalists, lobbyists and politicians who are just that, and we are not going to see a just, equal and free world before we take the power away from them.

In Agita we believe in autonomy. We believe that every person has a right to make decisions on behalf of themselves in the communities that they are a part of. It is important that we have the power over our own lives and that we organize in communities and work together in regards to solving common problems. Decisions about individual people’s lives cannot be made fairly by states or other authorities in a democratic and sustainable way.

Some might say that the rulers of society are creating freedom and equality and take care of the citizens. However, it would be more correct to say that the state and the rulers only give these privileges to the people on top, which means that equality and freedom does not really exist and the citizens are not cared for in reality. Power in capitalist society is only had by authorities and every citizen has to adapt to these authorities. If you do not adapt punishment and repression will be used to maintain staus quo. Society is constructed in a manner so it benefits the ones on top at the expense on the ones on the bottom, who do not have the opportunity to protest or take charge regarding decisions that influence their own lives. Autonomy on the other hand, means freedom equality and the opportunity to organize in a solidary society. Autonomy gives the freedom for the individual to make decisions that are relevant for them without it interfering with the right of others to do the same. Autonomy is what makes us able to live without rulers, authorities and market economy. In an autonomous society you work collectively, you listen to each other and exchange experiences and divide tasks through direct democracy. In this way equality and freedom can be created and basic necessities can be divided righteously.

In Agita we know that autonomy weakens marginalization and creates a democratic platform that everybody can benefit from. Direct democracy through an autonomous way of organising creates the opportunity for people to take their lives into their own hands and the opportunity for us to create a society where everybody has the same worth and can contribute on equal terms with each other. For these reasons Agita is an autonomous group, and for these reasons we fight for an autonomous society.

In Agita we believe that solidarity is our most important mean against oppression. We are living in a world with repression from the police and from the state and the people is constantly experiencing oppression based on gender, skin colour, ethnicity, economic background, body and sexuality. Solidarity is what can bring us together and give us the strength to unite our fights and act together.

The capitalist system is not solidary and it only handles the interests of the rich and powerful. Through repression the rulers maintain the status quo in society and they tell us that the only way to change matters is through parliamentarianism. Simultaneously the oppressing structures in society are being upheld by the rulers, but also by individual citizens through the single privileges that they are given and use to take up space. Society is divided according to hierarchies and this means that some have easier access to and a bigger right too economic, political and democratic benefits than others. If oppression is to be dismantled it is important that everybody is willing to give up their own privileges. Unfortunately, a lot of people are not aware of their own privileges and others are not willing to give them up because of the benefits it gives them in todays society. If we do not actively give up our privileges or at least become aware of them it becomes difficult to be solidary because the oppression seems unfamiliar. It can be difficult to understand what it must be like to be a refuge, transgender people, poor or to belong to any other oppressed group for people who do not experience that same oppression.

In Agita we know that we can only create a solidary society if people begin to give up their priviliges and show solidarity with groups who are experiencing oppression. We cannot fight injustice alone but together we are stronger. We want a society that can accommodate the ones that todays society cannot. We want equality and freedom for everyone and not just for the elite. If solidarity is not a part of our fight, we will not succeed. Nobody is free before everybody is free.